Battle of Saito

The Battle of Saito (Spring 1864) was the second battle of the Kyushu Campaign of the Boshin War, fought between the Satsuma Domain and Nobeoka Domain. An army of 5,400 Satsuma troops under General Saigo Takamori defeated two attempts by an army of 6,040 Nobeoka troops to break out of the siege of their capital of Saito, and the Satsuma captured the city after a third battle. The defeat at Saito crushed the Nobeoka clan, and Hyuga Province fell to the pro-Imperial Satsuma forces, one of the first Imperial clans to be destroyed.

Background
Following his defeat at the Battle of Hyuga Fields, Nobeoka Domain daimyo Naito Munefusa retreated back to his capital of Naito with the last remnants of his field army. He met up with the sizeable army there, amassing over 6,000 troops. However, he gained no repose, as Satsuma Domain general Saigo Takamori and his army of 5,410 troops attacked Saito and besieged him. The Satsuma Army was reinforced by Tsuchiya Tsunemi's fleet of three modern warships, who could bombard the city if needed.

First Battle
Munefusa had confidence that his army could smash their way out of encirclement, as they faced less troops. However, the Satsuma had control of a ridge in addition to support from their navy, and the Nobeoka troops were bombarded by naval gunfire twice. Their men were blown away by the gunfire, and when they made their attacks on the Satsuma-held ridge, they were unable to seize the hill due to heavy losses from gunfire from uphill. 830 Satsuma and 3,900 Nobeoka troops were killed, with Saigo Takamori's rallying of his men preventing some mauled units from fleeing.

Second Battle
Although his first attack was defeated with heavy losses, Munefusa gambled on a second attack to drive the Satsuma off. However, the Satsuma remained on the ridge, and their naval gunfire was able to again pound the Nobeoka army. Munefusa rode into battle alone, as all of his aides were killed in the first battle. The final attack left Munefusa dead, and his units that charged uphill were blasted by riflemen. 1,350 Nobeoka and 90 Satsuma troops were killed in the attack.

Third (Final) Battle
The last 790 Nobeoka troops rallied under Naito Yasukiyo, who took over the clan's forces. Yasukiyo was committed to defending the castle, so the Satsuma launched their assault. 260 Satsuma were killed, but the castle fell to the Imperial forces - Yasukiyo died along with the Nobeoka Domain.

Aftermath
The fall of Saito led to the capture of Hyuga Province by the Satsuma Imperial forces, who gained access to the superior tea in the province, a good resource for trading. The Nobeoka Domain's collapse led the Satsuma to focus on the Oka Domain to the north, a domain that conquered much of northern Kyushu and held southern Honshu.